Search This Blog

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Nevermind How You Feel, Tell Me What You Think!

I listened to Rush Limbaugh on the radio one day last
week.A caller said he noticed most
people today will rarely reply to a question by saying, “I think….”They generally, he said, reply, “I feel…”The two continued to discuss the
difference.Rush said it is easy to feel
anything, but to THINK requires effort, conviction, rational thought and a
rejection of the alternatives to the answer given.How anyone feels can’t be argued with especially
when what they say is couched in such a way as to not offend someone else or prevent
them from not liking you.

An example would be if you were asked about your stance
on gay marriage, and you said the following:

“I feel we need to have an
open mind about these things and I feel it isn’t for me to judge others and I
feel it is probably best if we just try to understand the feelings of others
and try to get along.”

Otherwise, the answer using “I think” would need to go
something like this:

“I think it is a sin.I think it is an offense to God and an insult
to real marriage between a man and a woman.”

The reason one would THINK that is because it is
true.It is based on Holy
Scripture.It is how the world has
viewed marriage historically since time began and no amount of pretending can
make it anything but the most healthy and reasonable way to live and create
families.It is a proven fact that
children need both a mother and a father. And it is a fact that a chaste
marriage between one man and one woman is both healthy for the individuals
involved and the most beneficial relationship between two people for society as
a whole.

No one can argue with the fact the first answer will not
cause you to lose friends, whereas, the second one just might.

Today people worry very much how people “feel”
about them and they are concerned they may be rejected and lose Facebook
followers or Twitter followers or not get as many Christmas cards next
December, or invites to parties, or nominations for offices in the clubs they
belong to.Being popular is far more
important to many than simply being correct for the right reasons.

All but a small percentage of the people I know would
prefer to not discuss politics or religion.This goes not only for my friends and my associates but for my extended
family as well.They “feel” we would
just have a better chance of “getting along” and not upsetting each other that
way.I refuse to be silenced by their feelings.

A long time friend, whom I love, told me not long ago
that he has lots of friends who are liberal and he just knows not to start a
conversation about certain things or engage in a rebuttal when the topic of
politics comes up and that way they never argue about anything.He said you have to know who you are dealing
with and go from there.I said that was
not OK with me because I wasn’t going to listen to things I disagreed with and
not respond.His comment was, “You know,
you’re going to lose a lot of friends that way.”My reply was, “Yes.You will.”The truth is, John the Baptist lost his head that way, but it didn’t
stop him from speaking the truth.Neither
will I.

Still, it is important to keep something else in
mind.We are instructed by St. Paul to
stop arguing over stupid stuff and walk away from those who refuse to hear the
truth.In other words BE PREPARED to
lose friends sometimes and understand that it is better to have fewer friends
than to be popular only because you have not had the guts to defend the
truth.

This advice must also be applied to relatives in sinful
same sex relationships.Relatives and
long time friends who now express “gender confusion.”People we’ve known for a long time who won’t
condemn abortion or who think it’s now cool to say they don’t believe in God.

Remains of a pagan temple on the Island of Crete

In the third chapter of the letter to Titus
whose job it was to establish the church on the island of Crete, known to be a
wild and crazy place loved by heretics and pagans of every sort, Paul says,

“I want you to insist on
these points, that those who have believed in God be careful to devote
themselves to good works; these are excellent and beneficial to others.Avoid foolish arguments, genealogies,
rivalries, and quarrels about the law, for they are useless and futile.After a first and second warning, break
off contact with a heretic, realizing that such a person is perverted and
sinful and stands self-condemned.”

This advice is golden.He is clear that the truth must be spoken, even repeated, but after
that, it is better to walk away from them than to tolerate or accommodate their
perversions, sins, and wrong opinions.

To do otherwise might cause you to pick up the odor of
the people you associate with.Sooner or
later, if you refuse to defend the truth, or merely allow their difference of
opinion to stand unchecked, you will have in fact gone along with it.Let nothing come between you and God.At the end of the day, who is better
off?The one with a million friends of every persuasion or the one
who has carried his cross and remained faithful? Just remember, anyone who is
not good for your soul is NOT your friend.

4 comments:

Great post, Chriss. I agree. But you also need to pick your battles and not "cast your pearls before swine." I read somewhere once that the meaning of that passage comes from the fact that we are not called to continually share the gospel with those that scoff at it, abuse us and refuse to listen. (Basically, trample us and the truth with their cloven hooves. Does that make you think of images of Satan?)

Remember the scripture about shaking the dust off your feet. We can't really do that with family members. I think once we've made it clear to others where we stand, argument is sometimes pointless. We can say something like, "Well, you know we don't agree on (say abortion), I wouldn't want anyone to kill you and I don't think it's right to pick on the little guys." and leave it at that. Getting into an extended battle isn't always worth it.

I read this explanation and thought it was helpful:

"The command not to cast your pearls before swine does not mean we refrain from preaching the gospel. Jesus Himself ate with and taught sinners and tax collectors (Matthew 9:10). In essence, the instruction in Matthew 7:6 is the same that Jesus gave to His apostles when He said, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matthew 10:14). We are to share the gospel, but, when it becomes apparent that the gospel is not welcome, we are to move on. We are responsible to share the good news; we are not responsible for people’s response to the good news. Pigs don’t appreciate pearls, and some people don’t appreciate what Christ has done for them. Our job is not to force conversions or cram the gospel down people’s throats; there’s no sense in preaching the value of pearls to swine. Jesus’ instruction to His apostles on how to handle rejection was to simply go elsewhere. There are other people who need to hear the gospel, and they are ready to hear it."

1) Shaking the dust off my feet: I used to have three Catholic friends I went out to dinner with. Now I'm down to one. When the other two leaped across the table to scream in my face I ended our "friendship".

2) Chriss said: "An example would be if you were asked about your stance on gay marriage". When a person asks me that, I clarify the subject matter before answering by saying, "You mean what do I think of sodomy and sodomites? Because it isn't "marriage". It's sodomy. You do know that don't you?"

That answers their question. They never go further because either they get angry or are shocked into suddenly realizing it's SODOMY.

Subscribe To

About Us

Follow by Email

Policy on Comments

Comments are welcome, and all are moderated. Please be respectful. Argument (in the classical sense) is encouraged. A lively discussion helps clarify, however crude, or obscene remarks will not be posted. Neither will ad hominem attacks, so please don't mix a comment on an issue with an ad hominem because it won't be posted. Publication does not imply agreement.